Not long ago, Nancy gave a presentation at a Women's Conference. The title was, "All You Need Is Love." I am told it was well-received and that a lot of the women thanked her for it.
But a problem surfaced some time later. It turned out that one lady disliked the fact that Nancy had handed out heart-shaped candy during her presentation. When Nancy found out, she called her and they worked out their difference. Nancy assured her that she does not keep Valentine’s Day and certainly wasn’t promoting it. Nancy apologized for giving wrong signals and promised she would never again give out heart-shaped candy at a Women’s Conference--even if that candy is on clearance and can be bought cheap. J
I think there are a couple of lessons that can be learned from this instance:
1) If two people really want to work out a difference, they can. What if Nancy’s friend refused to accept her apology? Or what if Nancy were unwilling to offer the apology? The outcome of this would have been entirely different.
2) But, even more importantly, I think this incident shows that we in God’s Church need to hold each other accountable in a loving way. Nancy was challenged on whether or not she keeps a pagan day when she performed an act which gave mixed signals. There is nothing wrong with Nancy being challenged.
Actually, I think we would all be amazed if we knew what doctrinal beliefs others really hold deep down inside. And every person’s beliefs are his own business if he chooses to keep them private.
But the minute you set yourself up in a leadership position in God’s Church, others have the right (maybe the responsibility) to ask you what you really believe. As long as Nancy is willing to stand up before God’s people and teach, she has to be willing to be honest about her beliefs.
When someone claims to be a Christian, it’s not up to me to judge whether or not he is really converted. But when someone claims to be a minister or an apostle or a leader of any kind, I have a right (maybe a responsibility) to ask him to prove what he says he is. Questioning someone’s leadership is totally different than questioning someone’s conversion.
Let’s be like the Bereans. Let’s prove all things. If someone wants to educate you, make sure he is qualified to do so. And, Nancy, no more heart-shaped candies. I don’t care how cheap they are on sale.
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